Bobsled at the Winter Olympics

Men's bobsled has been on the Winter Games program since the first Winter Olympics in 1924, a women's event was only added in 2002.

Events for 2014

There are three Bobsleigh events at the Winter Olympics, two for men and one for women:

Two-man, Two woman and Four-man

Trivia

in 1928, the bob sled event was a five-man competition. All other years there have been a 4-man event.

America's bobsleigh team, led by Billy Fiske, won the gold at the 1932 Lake Placid Games. The team included Eddie Eagan, who was a boxing champion in the 1920 Games. Eagan remains the only person to have won gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Games.

The Games held in Squaw Valley in 1960 became the only Winter Games event not to include bobsledding, as the organizing committee refused to build an expensive bobsled run for the mere nine nations that would use it.

In 1988,
Jamaica entered its first bobsled team, finishing last. However, they did inspire a Hollywood film called Cool Runnings. (see video of the originals)

In 2002, USA's Vonetta Flowers
became the first black athlete to earn a winter games gold medal, doing so
in the women's bobsleigh.